1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a machine remote monitoring system and a management method, and in particular, to a machine remote monitoring system, which monitors operating conditions of a plurality of machines via communication, and to a management method for carrying out a management such as maintenance of machine based on the monitored result.
2. Description of the Related Art
Work machines, ships and vehicles, which are driven by an engine, must continue to operate for a long time while having a heavy load under severe conditions such as outdoor. For this reason, a suitable maintenance is required in order to normally operate these machines. Further, even if the work must be unavoidably interrupted due to the occurrence of failure, these machines must be repaired quickly and accurately so as to restore for a short time as much as possible.
On the other hand, the management of the above work machines is generally entrusted to a user such as an operator operating these machines, and further, the judgment of failure is made by the user. When a failure has been found, it is general that the user informs sales shop of the failure so as to receive a repair service.
However, in the case where the user makes the above judgment of failure, the user""s judgment is delayed sometimes, as a result, a problem arises such that a failure is escalated. Further, the user can not accurately make the judgment of failure, for this reason, there is the case where the condition has not been fully confirmed until a service engineer goes to the place having the failure. In such case, a long time has already elapsed until the service engineer starts suitable repairs.
In view of the above circumstances, for example, a management apparatus for mobile work machines has been proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-273714. In the above management apparatus, the operating condition data of the work machine is transmitted to a maintenance management section using a mobile radio communication device portable by an operator of the work machine, and then, the management section effectively makes an analysis relative to maintenance based on the transmitted data.
Further, a machine failure monitoring apparatus has been proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-65645. In the above machine failure monitoring apparatus, when a failure or abnormal condition occurs, a failure signal and operating data at that time are automatically transmitted to the host computer via a network, and then, the data is stored as failure monitored history data. Further, maintenance timing is determined based on the history data, and emergency break is carried out.
Of the apparatuses described in the above Publications, in the former apparatus, when the operator connects the mobile radio communication device to a connector of data exchanger having modem, a data extracted from storage section is transmitted to the maintenance management section. Therefore, the operator""s judgment is delay, and when no connection is made, the data is not transmitted, for this reason, there is the case where a failure is not found, or the finding-out is delayed. Further, the above apparatus described in the Publication has been proposed for the purpose of making easy maintenance of machine doing work within a limited area. For this reason, the above apparatus has not been proposed considering machines movable in a wide area, therefore, improvement is still required.
On the other hand, in the latter apparatus, the management station side can manage the judgment of failure occurrence and maintenance timing with respect to a plurality of work machines. However, in this case, the actual repair work greatly depends upon the service engineer""s skill, for this reason, the user does not feel secure about his skill in view of quickness, and can not obtain satisfaction relative to the repair condition. Further, a problem arises such that it is difficult to secure communication security.
The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a machine remote monitoring system and a management method, which can give accurate failure diagnosis and high reliability and safety with respect to repair to a user.
In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect, the present invention provides a machine remote monitoring system comprising, means for identification information of call station in response to an incoming call, communication means which starts communication with the call station when the determining means makes a decision such that a call comes from a previously registered station, means for confirming an operating condition of machine connected with the call station based on the condition data transmitted from the call station in the communication, and information providing means for giving an information such that a failure occurs to a predetermined destination, for example, user and maintenance staff when the condition data is not a predetermined normal value or predetermined data showing an occurrence of failure.
According to a second aspect, the present invention provides a machine management method comprising the steps of, making an access to a remote monitoring apparatus from a communication device connected to a managed machine so as to transmit a condition data of the managed machine, carrying out troubleshooting so as to detect the cause of failure when the remote monitoring apparatus confirms an occurrence of failure based on the condition data, and giving a message of the occurrence of failure and the cause of failure decided by troubleshooting to a predetermined destination.
According to a third aspect, the present invention provides the machine management method, wherein troubleshooting is carried out using a program downloaded from the server via a network including a server serving as database.
According to a fourth aspect, the present invention provides the machine management method, wherein the detection result of the cause of failure by the troubleshooting means is transmitted to the server as history data together with the condition data.
According to a fifth aspect, the present invention provides the machine management method, wherein history data transmitted to the server is stored in the server, and an access is possible from any one of the maintenance staff and the user with previously allocated identification information.
According to a sixth aspect, the present invention provides the machine management method, wherein the remote monitoring apparatus displays the detection result of the cause of failure by the troubleshooting, maintenance parts required for taking suitable measures to the cause of failure, and an order screen for ordering the maintenance parts, and the order screen is operated so as to order the maintenance parts to a provider or maker included in the network.
According to the present invention, condition data representing the operating condition of machine is supplied to the managing side, that is, the remote monitoring apparatus by making an access from a managed machine side. The remote monitoring apparatus makes a decision whether or not a failure occurs based on the condition data, and carries out troubleshooting for the failure. Therefore, it is possible to determine the failure based on the condition data before a failure is detected in the machine side, as well as when the failure is detected in the machine side. In particular, the troubleshooting program is downloaded from the data base storing the latest information, therefore, suitable troubleshooting is possible.
Further, communication is started by the access from the machine side, and thereafter, the condition data is transmitted, therefore, high security can be secured in the machine side. In addition, maintenance parts can be ordered immediately when the troubleshooting result is given, therefore, it is possible to quickly perform maintenance.